AI Now Associate Director Kate Brennan Testifies at the New York City Council Committee on Technology Hearing on the MyCity Portal
NYC's MyCity experience surfaces concrete harms from poorly governed public AI infrastructure—relevant as Australian agencies scope similar citizen-facing digital service platforms.
Key points
- AI Now Institute testified against NYC's MyCity portal, citing corporate capture and citizen surveillance risks.
- The case illustrates risks when public AI infrastructure embeds vendor data advantages and opaque governance.
- Limited direct APS applicability, but the digital wallet and behavioural tracking scenario is a useful cautionary case study.
Implications for Australian agencies
- Monitor Agencies developing citizen-facing AI platforms or digital service portals may want to monitor how US jurisdictions respond to corporate capture and surveillance concerns in public infrastructure.
- Consider Policy teams working on AI governance or digital service design could consider whether procurement and data-use terms for citizen-facing platforms adequately guard against analogous surveillance and vendor lock-in risks.
Implications are AI-generated. Starting points, not advice — see methodology for how they're framed.
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"AI Now Associate Director Kate Brennan Testifies at the New York City Council Committee on Technology Hearing on the MyCity Portal"
Source: AI Now Institute – Publications
Published: 1 October 2024
URL: https://ainowinstitute.org/publications/policy-brief/ai-nows-testimony-to-new-york-city-council-on-corporate-capture-of-the-mycity-portal
AI Now Institute Associate Director Kate Brennan testified before the New York City Council on risks posed by the MyCity portal, a public AI infrastructure project. Her testimony focused on corporate capture of public data assets, market concentration risks, and surveillance concerns—specifically a proposal by NYC's Chief Technology Officer to replace government payments with digital wallets and use spending-behaviour tracking to offer 'incentive points' for approved purchases. AI Now argues this model enables intimate surveillance of citizens without clear necessity for service delivery. The testimony is framed as a broader warning about Big Tech entrenchment in government AI infrastructure.
Implications for Australian agencies:
- [Monitor] Agencies developing citizen-facing AI platforms or digital service portals may want to monitor how US jurisdictions respond to corporate capture and surveillance concerns in public infrastructure.
- [Consider] Policy teams working on AI governance or digital service design could consider whether procurement and data-use terms for citizen-facing platforms adequately guard against analogous surveillance and vendor lock-in risks.
Retrieved from SIMS, 18 July 2026.